Paper Jesus

It seems that the biblical God has worn out his welcome in today’s culture.  Many people see him as being out-of-touch. What if we each could design a god that coincided with our own special requirements?  Think of the advantages . . .

God could be personally tailored to parallel our wants and needs. We could lay out the framework for a god who is in agreement with our heart’s desires and we wouldn’t have to worry about breaking some “Supreme Code” that had been designed without our personal approval.

I’d want my god to be loving!  Absolutely!!!!  He would have to love and care for everyone, no exceptions what-so-ever . . . unless of course someone didn’t want to be loved, then he’d have to back off.

I’d want a god who provided for my needs,  but I wouldn’t want him determining what my needs actually are.  I think I know what’s best for me.

I’d want a god who stands by his promises—a Rock who never changes.  He would be a god who means what he says . . . unless of course my situation changes because depending on what’s going on in my life he may need to make a few adjustments.

I’d want a god who would eliminate illness, aging, death, tornadoes, and pretty much all human suffering.  In fact if God made this life here on earth pleasant enough, would there really be any reason to leave and go somewhere else, like heaven? Why not spend eternity right here?  After all, all of my favorite stuff would already be here.

I think my god should probably  have some sort of law, but let’s just keep it to maybe three or four commandments.  First off, let’s not call them sin.  That’s a harsh word.  It sounds like I did something evil when you say I sinned.  Let’s just call them rules, because we all know that rules are meant to be broken.

I think most of us would be okay with hanging on to, “Do not kill.” I suppose I could have him make a few exceptions if needed.

I could get rid of “Do not steal” and “Do not covet” because if my god is doing his job right I shouldn’t be needing or wanting anything.

Okay, so far I have “Do not kill,” (with a few exceptions that I’ll figure out later).

“Do not lie” always kind of bothered me because I wonder,  has a lie really ever hurt anyone?

We could keep “Honor your mother and father.” . . .  On second thought, some parents can really be a pain in the ass and I think honoring them would only cheapen the image of the god that I’m trying to create.

Maybe I’ll just keep it at no killing, (with a few exceptions) and I’ll let you know if something else comes up.

Actually as I look at this, it seems like a pretty good plan.  Think about it, if we could stay here on earth with everyone living really comfortable lives, God wouldn’t need to be bothered with sending a Savior.  There would be nothing to be saved from!  We could spare God the trouble of the whole life, death and resurrection of Jesus thing.

Christmas could then just be about showing love and passing out presents. Easter could be about baskets, bunnies and of course, polish sausage.  I’d probably want to hang on to Thanksgiving because my wife puts out a darn nice spread.  Besides, we ought to be thankful that I came up with this idea.

Even better, there would be no need for hell or a devil . . . unless of course you’re into something like that.  In that case I could designate . . . I don’t know maybe Cleveland to be hell on earth.

Really, the only problem I see is if the god you design interferes with the god I design.  I’m not sure how we would get around that?

Honestly, to avoid conflict there probably should only be one person telling god what to do.  We need someone who not only can adjust to our ever changing desires, but who is also forward thinking enough to keep up with culture.   That probably should be me.

Don’t worry, I’ll be fair.  I really can’t foresee any problems, but if one does arise you can come to me at anytime and petition me to make some changes, or at least ask for an exemption.

Hey, if everyone is happy and our god knows what’s expected of him we ought to all get along just fine.

What could possibly go wrong?

My plan does leave me with one perplexing thought:  Would an Omnipotent Sovereign God be subject to the desires of culture . . . or would culture be subject to the desires of the Creator?

Maybe we’d be wiser if we let go of the god of our own desires and embraced the God that is.